One year on from the Grenfell fire, Foster discussed the political aftermath and the survivors' struggle for justice with writer and editor James Butler on Novara Media. Ī tribute to Foster by the writer Juliet Jacques wrote that Foster, "reported on relentlessly, criticising the way the building's management company and the local council had ignored the residents' concerns". She called the tragedy an "atrocity" that "was explicitly political" and "a symbol of the United Kingdom's deep inequality". On the day of the fire, Jacobin magazine published an article by Foster on the fire. "the level of public anger right now since the Grenfell disaster is forcing people here to confront the issues of class and race, gentrification and public policy that, it is now clear, can be deadly." On the night of the Grenfell Tower fire, " headed over to do what she could as Grenfell Tower was engulfed in flames, and went on to unearth a blog post written by former residents of the tower warning that the recent refurbishment could cause a 'serious fire'." Her coverage of the fire included an opinion piece in The New York Times, in which she wrote the following: I have found the sentiment, if not the gesture, to be common among his ideological comrades. When I mentioned his name in the course of interviewing a former Department for Education employee for the piece, my interviewee headbutted the restaurant table in exasperation.
Young seems to think he is held in high regard by free school advocates. Foster responded to Young in the London Review of Books' Letters refuting Young's criticism and wrote:Ĭreaming off the children of more affluent parents constitutes social segregation so too does the existence of religious free schools. In a letter to the London Review of Books, Young took issue with Foster's interpretation of free schools data and made claims that were challenged by the author Michael Rosen, journalist Melissa Benn, and education researcher Janet Downs in further letters written to the publication. In it, Foster wrote: “There is no requirement that free school founders have experience of running a school, and no assessment is made as to whether the prospective founders will be able to meet the legally required standards of school governance." The article drew criticism from free schools advocate and journalist Toby Young. In 2015, the London Review of Books' cover story for its 7 May issue was an article written by Foster criticising the free school movement. London Review of Books letter to Toby Young It was during Foster's role at Inside Housing that International Building Press organisation named her 2014's IBP new journalist of the year. Inside Housing colleagues described Foster as "brave and bold" and a "brilliant journalist." Her work there includes reports into hoarding, interviews with social geographer Danny Dorling and Welsh politician Tanni Grey-Thompson, and investigations into how periods impact homeless women.
Inside Housing Īfter working on The Guardian's comment moderation desk and writing opinion, Foster worked as deputy features editor at Inside Housing from 2014 to 2015. Her tenure at The Guardian came to an end in mid 2019 after she wrote an opinion piece criticising the centrist-leaning deputy leader Tom Watson and suggesting he should quit the Labour Party. Her work at The Guardian predominantly covered social affairs, politics, economics and women's rights. įoster's career at The Guardian continued with regular columns including Foster on Friday for the Housing Network, opinion columns, and her work for The Guardian's Society desk. In 2011, Foster was appointed as a moderator on The Guardian Comment is Free website and became a regular contributor to its opinion section.
The success of Foster's blog on the harassment of female cyclists led to her first commission at The Guardian in 2010. She was co-editor of openDemocracy 50:50 and wrote for numerous publications including The New York Times, Tribune, and the London Review of Books. Journalism įoster held staff writer positions at Inside Housing, The Guardian, and Jacobin magazine. Before going into in journalism, Foster worked in politics and higher education. She attended Caerleon Comprehensive School and Bassaleg High School before going on to study English literature at the University of Warwick. In 2017, Foster detailed early experiences of hunger and sleeping rough for the Food Memory Bank project.
In articles for Child Poverty Action Group and The Guardian, she wrote that she grew up in poverty in an unemployed family. She also had a background in Belfast and held dual British and Irish citizenship.